I was talking to a good-looking young friend of mine, bragging about the Gazpacho I made for a dinner party last weekend. She asked what that was – she had no concept of this all-time classic!!?? (more…)

Like this:

Sometimes dinner parties produce a great turn of events. A month ago, we invited a couple for dinner and served “Roast Lemon and Garlic Chicken with Vegetables”. (Click on recipes to get the full details). I used a whole organic chicken from Costco (they sell them two to a package – I use one right away and freeze the other). You basically put lemon and garlic in the cavity and roast the chicken and the vegetables together in a big roasting pan. The juices from the chicken do marvelous things for the vegetables. The guests loved it and were spurred to invite us to dinner to show their skills – which they did.

Last night, our hosts prepared swordfish on the grill. The technique was interesting. They had a large swordfish steak that they rubbed with olive oil and seared for about 90 seconds on each side. They then lathered herbed mayonnaise on the top, closed the grill, turned the heat down a little and cooked the fish for another 10 minutes. It was a great result and very easy dish.

They also prepared a great summer salad – black beans and sweet corn. The corn was sliced from the cob, uncooked. I now wonder why we ever cook good sweet corn. They added black beans (canned, drained and rinsed), cilantro, a little Balsamic vinegar and a drizzle of olive oil. Perfect.

Let me know if you have tried swordfish this way or have made a beans and corn salad. We’ll get everyone’s suggestions and post the best recipe.

P.S. We brought our famous (I call it famous) tomato salad – peeled, sliced tomatoes with garlic infused vinegar and olive oil. As part of this dish, we save the tomato skins and make a tomato and olive tapenade that can be served as an appetizer. It is a real double duty dish. Click on Recipes and try “Summer Garlic Tomato salad with Tomato Olive Pesto” – you will love it. The original idea came from Marcella Hazan (“The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking” – a must buy if you don’t already have it.)